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Mon, 21 Jan 2019 09:04:15 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.13http://i0.wp.com/www.snkrbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/snkrbox.png?fit=32%2C18snkrbox by Jason Burkehttp://www.snkrbox.com
3232116245079Consecutive Losses For Leafshttp://www.snkrbox.com/consecutive-losses-leafs/
http://www.snkrbox.com/consecutive-losses-leafs/#respondMon, 21 Jan 2019 09:04:15 +0000http://www.snkrbox.com/?p=2621Arizona Coyotes win 4-2 to pile more misery on the Toronto Maple Leafs Mike Babcock felt his team didn’t have a lot of luck. John Tavares thought there were a lot of things to build on. But in the end, all Sunday amounted to was another loss for the scuffling Maple Leafs. Vinnie Hinostroza scored … Continue Reading

Dermott said the talented Leafs, picked by many to contend for the Stanley Cup in the spring, could use some extra urgency in their game.

“Knowing what you can do and going out and doing it is definitely a different thing,” said the rookie defenceman.

Toronto currently sits just a point up on Boston and Montreal for second in the Atlantic Division. Although the Leafs do have games in hand.

“We’ve had some really good looks,” Tavares said. “This is a great challenge of character and just a great opportunity to find a way to figure it out. We solve that puzzle of getting to where we need to get to.”

The Coyotes, meanwhile, are 8-0-1 in the franchise’s last nine trips to Toronto and improved to 5-1-1 over their last seven.

After the Leafs tied the game at 3:12 of the third when Tavares ripped his 30th goal of the season to awaken a slumbering Scotiabank Arena. The Coyotes came right back on Hinostroza’s fifth – a bank shot off down-and-out Andersen at 6:44.

Toronto defenceman Morgan Rielly hit the post at the other end moments later – one of three occasions the Leafs found iron. Playing their third game in four nights following Friday’s 3-1 road loss Florida, the Leafs pushed for an equalizer. But Crouse iced it into an empty net with his eighth.

“We played the right way,” Keller said. “We came out a little bit slow. But I think when we settled down a little bit and stuck to our game plan.”

Down 1-0 after the opening 20 minutes. The Coyotes tied it at 2:16 of the second when Kempe moved in alone and deked to the forehand before depositing his third.

Josh Archibald nearly made it 2-1 for the visitors later in the period when Andersen’s clearing attempt hit the Coyotes forward in the face and nearly ricocheted in, but the Leafs goalie recovered to kick out his right pad.

Keller eventually gave his team its first lead with 4:41 left in the period when he fired a laser short side under the crossbar from a tough angle for his 11th.

The Leafs then lost winger Andreas Johnsson to a concussion after he took a hit from Arizona defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson. Babcock said Johnsson won’t be available when the Leafs host Washington on Wednesday, their last game before the NHL all-star break.

Toronto’s power play – just 6 for 51 over its last 20 games coming in – went to work late in the second. But the NHL’s No. 1 penalty-killing unit held firm.

A target of boos during a 6-3 home loss to Colorado last Monday and again by a section of traveling fans in Thursday’s 4-2 road victory over first-place Tampa Bay, Leafs defenceman Jake Gardiner sat out with back spasms.

That opened the door for Dermott to move into Toronto’s top-4 on the blue line alongside Nikita Zaitsev, who like Gardiner has struggled in recent weeks.

The Leafs went up 1-0 at 11:45 of the first when Dermott took a pass from William Nylander and whipped a shot from the point through traffic for his third, and first since Dec. 8.

“Teams go through speed bumps,” Dermott said. “It’s just trying to figure it out and working back to that best game.”

The rout equaled PSG’s record league win. This was a 9-0 away win against Troyes in 2016. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the star. Also, the capital club won a French Cup game 10-0 in 1994.

PSG have a huge tally of 62 goals in 19 games. Meaning they are now 13 points ahead of second-place Lille with two matches in hand. However, the day was marred by a left-ankle injury suffered by midfielder Marco Verratti. The Italian limped off after 18 minutes.

“I’m sad … I think it’s serious,” coach Thomas Tuchel said. “It’s possible he’ll be out for a few weeks. Because he’s gone to the hospital and because of that we can’t say anything more for the time being.”

Although PSG, already have a depleted midfield. Additionally, they travel to Manchester United for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 game on Feb. 12.

Tuchel’s team produced a feast of attacking football.

“I’ve never seen that. 9-0 in the league,” he said. “We played with a lot of quality and got better as the game went on. Because we did things simply, quickly.”

Neymar opened the scoring in the 12th minute after taking down a long pass from Dani Alves. He then cut inside a defender before finishing sharply with his right foot.

He then set up Mbappe in the 37th. After they swapped passes and his fellow striker side-footed the ball in.

Just before halftime, Mbappe grabbed his second. After Cavani tackled defender Felix Eboa Eboa on the edge of the penalty area and the loose ball rolled to him.

Guingamp forward Marcus Thuram — son of France great Lilian — was occasionally a threat. However, it was a dominant first-half display by PSG.

After the break, Guingamp fell apart as Cavani netted a second-half treble. Neymar scored again after video reviews showed it had crossed the line. Mbappe swept home from close range to get his hat trick.

Mbappe moved further ahead in the league scoring charts. Additionally with a career-best of 17. Cavani has 14 and Neymar 13.

Hat-trick hero Cavani, who passed the milestone of a century of goals at Parc des Princes, said: “The main thing was to beat Guingamp tonight after they had knocked us out of the Coupe de la Ligue.

“Therefore it showed that the team wants to keep doing great things and that that defeat was just a lack of concentration. It’s up to us to keep going like that.

“I’m very happy to have scored my 100th and even my 101st goal at the Parc des Princes. I am in the club’s history and I want to keep scoring goals to help my team. The 100th goal was a one-two between [Angel] Di Maria and Neymar, because he put the ball on my head and I finished it off.”

No. 1 Duke and fourth-ranked Virginia kept trading baskets — and the lead — down the stretch of another classic at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Here’s the difference: The Blue Devils had RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson and a defense that —even without key on-the-ball defender Tre Jones— flipped the script on the Cavaliers.

Barrett scored 30 points. Williamson had 27 and Duke gave Virginia its first loss of the season by beating the Cavaliers 72-70 on Saturday night.

“We did a lot of switching tonight, and we were able to move their defense enough — just enough, not every time — to get some driving lanes,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

The Blue Devils (15-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) bounced back from an overtime loss to Syracuse that could cost them their top ranking. They avoided their first two-game losing streak at home since 2016 and proved they can win without Jones.

DeAndre Hunter scored 18 points. Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy had 14 apiece for the Cavaliers (16-1, 4-1). Cavs entered as the nation’s last unbeaten after No. 2 Michigan was upset at Wisconsin earlier in the day. Virginia allowed Duke to shoot 63 percent in the second half — and hit 12 of 15 shots inside the 3-point arc — while giving up a season-high point total.

The fourth matchup of top-ranked teams in the sport’s history — Virginia entered at No. 1 in the coaches’ poll — was a tournament-caliber game throughout. There were 14 ties and 15 lead changes, and it was a one-possession game for a 14½-minute stretch of the second half.

After the Cavaliers missed 11 of 12 shots during a late nine-minute stretch. They pulled within 69-66 on Guy’s 3-pointer with 23 seconds left. Barrett hit two free throws with 20.9 seconds to play. Therefore Virginia let too much time elapse before Braxton Key was fouled with 8.9 seconds remaining and hit both shots to make it 71-68.

Cameron Reddish hit a free throw to make it a four-point game. Before Hunter hit a jumper before the buzzer for Virginia.

With one key freshman out — Jones — the Blue Devils rode the three other members of their freshman class to a significant victory. Williamson, Barrett and Reddish combined to take 47 of Duke’s 51 shots and score 66 of their 72 points.

“Coach K gives us the freedom to be us,” Williamson said. “When there’s movement for the three of us, no telling what we can do.”

This was the Blue Devils’ first full game without Jones. He separated his AC joint in his right shoulder early on in the defeat against Syracuse. Jones watched from the bench in a polo shirt but without a sling. Duke had just six assists on 26 baskets after averaging 18 assists in their previous 16 games. Krzyzewski said there’s still no timetable for Jones’ return.

The Blue Devils have a few days to recover. As they visit Pittsburgh — coached by former Duke player and assistant Jeff Capel — on Tuesday night.

Danny Green made a season-high eight three-pointers to finish with 24 points and lead the Toronto Raptors to a 119-90 home win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.

Toronto (35-13) earned their ninth straight home victory to improve to 20-4 at Scotiabank Arena. Serge Ibaka had 18 points and Pascal Siakam added 17 for the Raptors, who’ve won seven-of-eight contests overall.

Kawhi Leonard (load management) missed a second straight game for Toronto, which shot 44-of-91 from the field and 17-of-36 from three-point range. Leonard had previously missed the fixture against the Phoenix Suns.

Jaren Jackson Jr., had 16 points for Memphis (19-27), which has lost five straight overall and seven consecutive road games. The Grizzlies dropped a 122-116 decision in Boston on Friday night.

Toronto cemented the win by outscoring Memphis 45-14 in the third for a commanding 100-62 advantage. Green led the way for the Raptors with seven of his three-pointers in the frame. He left to a thunderous ovation with 2:17 left in the quarter and the home team leading 90-62.

But DeLeon Wright kept the three-point barrage going, hitting from beyond the arc to put Toronto ahead 93-62 with Green on the bench. Kyle Lowry’s layup in the dying seconds earned the Raptors their 38-point advantage heading into the fourth.

Toronto opened the third on a 10-0 run for a 65-51 lead. Siakam scored seven points before Memphis’s JaMychal Green countered with a three-pointer.

But that didn’t stop Toronto, which surged ahead 77-55 on Green’s three-pointer to outscore Memphis 20-7 before the Grizzlies took a timeout at 6:18.

Lowry’s three free throws with 33 seconds remaining in the second secured Toronto its 55-48 half-time advantage. Ibaka led the way for Toronto with 14 points, one more than Miles. Jackson Jr. had nine points for Memphis.

The Grizzlies did even the score 30-30 on Jevon Carter’s three-pointer but the Raptors surged back ahead 38-32, thanks to eight points from Miles (two three-pointers, field goal) at 6:28.

Miles’ three-point play late in the first capped a 9-0 run for Toronto, which ended the quarter ahead 23-19. Ibaka led the way with 10 points for the Raptors, who shot 10-of-22 from the field.

Omri Casspi’s field goal ended Toronto’s 9-0 run for Memphis, which shot 7-of-21 and began the game 0 for 6 form the field.

“That was awesome, it was fun,” said coach Nick Nurse afterward. “We hadn’t had one like that in a while. It was good to see some of our shooters make some shots tonight.”

Now the obvious question: is good shooting like Green’s display tonight contagious? There are already some fascinating links at work here, what with the Curse, the PJs, the sudden team-wide surge.

“I do not take any credit for that,” said Green, clearly living it up. “If it just so happens to happen that way then great. I am glad I wore them. I will keep wearing them. But I thought it was a great outfit. They are very comfortable and I always support my teammates.”

The Raptors now have a few days to rest and recover before facing the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday evening.

]]>http://www.snkrbox.com/raptors-convincingly-beat-memphis/feed/02612Maple Leafs Shocked By Panthershttp://www.snkrbox.com/maple-leafs-shocked-panthers/
http://www.snkrbox.com/maple-leafs-shocked-panthers/#respondSat, 19 Jan 2019 10:14:36 +0000http://www.snkrbox.com/?p=2609Florida Panthers end their losing streak in 3-1 victory over Toronto Maple Leafs Vincent Trocheck returned to give the Florida Panthers the spark they desperately needed. Mike Matheson was the match-winner, as he netted the winning goal and Trocheck had an assist on the play to help the Panthers snap a seven-game losing streak by … Continue Reading

]]>Florida Panthers end their losing streak in 3-1 victory over Toronto Maple Leafs

Vincent Trocheck returned to give the Florida Panthers the spark they desperately needed.

Mike Matheson was the match-winner, as he netted the winning goal and Trocheck had an assist on the play to help the Panthers snap a seven-game losing streak by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 on Friday night.

Trocheck’s return to the Panthers’ lineup was the first time he had taken part in nearly 30 games. He had suffered a broken ankle against Ottawa on the 19th November.

“It was awesome. Never felt better,” Trocheck said. “Just thankful that I’m able to come back and play hockey again. It’s been a long time coming.”

Trocheck was scheduled to come back after the All-Star break but the 27-year-old was having none of that, apparently demanding to return as early as possible.

“I don’t know. I’ve been pushing for a while,” Trocheck said. “The day it happened I gave Dave (DiNapoli, the team trainer) a date. I said Jan. 21st is my date that I was going to come back.” After Thursday’s practice, the team decided to make the move.

Mike Hoffman and Frank Vatrano also scored for Florida. Furthermore, Roberto Luongo made 20 saves and Luongo moved within four wins of tying Ed Belfour (484) for third place on the NHL’s all-time wins list.

“It’s a huge boost for our club,” Luongo said of having Trocheck back. “We didn’t think he was going to play, but just having him at practice yesterday, it really got the boys jacked up. It was nice to see him in the lineup and contributing.

The Panthers took a 2-1 lead when Trocheck passed to Matheson at the point and he one-timed a shot that beat Sparks with 5:01 left in the first.

“It was a great play by Troch to have the awareness to stop up and put it on a tee for me,” Matheson said.

Ron Hainsey scored for the Maple Leafs have lost six of their last nine. Garret Sparks stopped 26 shots in his first start since Dec. 29th.

“I’m just happy to get back in the net,” Sparks said. “I just wanted to show up tonight and give us a chance to win. I wasn’t able to make that extra save tonight but moving forward these are games I feel I can win.”

“I thought they were better than us at the start. It took us a while to get our legs going,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. “Now with Trocheck and Bjugstad (who returned last Sunday) back they’ve got a good team here. We knew it was going to be hard coming in and we would have liked to have been better.”

Vatrano’s empty-net goal with 1:49 left capped the scoring.

“I think we’re starting to turn the corner,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. “We have a long way to go but tonight was 20 guys doing their job and everybody contributing.”

The Leafs jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Hainsey’s goal 1:49 in. Hainsey took a pass from Morgan Rielly at the blue line and fired the puck through traffic past Luongo.

The Panthers tied it 1-all on Hoffman’s team-leading 23rd goal. Keith Yandle took a shot from the blue line and Hoffman redirected the puck past Sparks at 9:02 of the first.

]]>http://www.snkrbox.com/maple-leafs-shocked-panthers/feed/02609Raptors Narrowly Edge Past Sunshttp://www.snkrbox.com/raptors-narrowly-edge-past-suns/
http://www.snkrbox.com/raptors-narrowly-edge-past-suns/#respondFri, 18 Jan 2019 10:02:11 +0000http://www.snkrbox.com/?p=2606Siakam sinks winning bucket on the buzzer to secure the win for Raptors After collecting his 5,000th career assist on the night, Kyle Lowry got the ball. But Pascal Siakam got the win. With Kawhi Leonard resting for the second game of a back-to-back, Toronto coach Nick Nurse elected to put the ball in Siakam’s … Continue Reading

Six Raptors finished in double figures as Toronto bounced back from a 117-108 loss in Boston on Wednesday.

That loss snapped the Raptors’ five-game win streak. But they kept another run going as they notched their eighth straight win at home since losing a 104-99 decision to Milwaukee on Dec. 9.

It was also Toronto’s sixth win in seven games, improving the Raptors’ record to 7-2 in January. The two Raptors defeats coming against the Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs.

Booker led Phoenix (11-35) with 30 points, his ninth 30-point game of the season.

After leading by as much as 16 in the second quarter, Toronto was outscored 29-20 in the third and went into the final quarter trailing 78-77. The Raptors shot 7-for-22 in the third.

Lowry had originally been ruled out of the game for rest purposes but was pronounced fit to play before tipoff. Lowry, who only recently came back from a sore back, spent his time on the bench lying on his back rather than in a seat.

He came into the game needing six assists to reach 5,000 for his career. He collected No. 6 in the fourth quarter, feeding Ibaka for a bucket.

“I would have never thought I would have gotten there at the start of my career,” said the 32-year-old Lowry, who is in his 13th NBA season. “I’ll look back on this when I retire. For now, it’s a great day, a great team win for us.”

The only other active players to have reached that milestone are Chris Paul, LeBron James, Tony Parker, Rajon Rondon, Russell Westbrook, Dwayne Wade, John Wall, former Raptor Jose Calderon and Raymond Felton.

Miles had been listed as questionable with a sore hip but was able to play. He finished with a season-high 13 points.

Toronto started Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Danny Green, Siakam and Ibaka, a lineup that had gone 4-0 this season. The Raptors have used 14 different starting lineups this season, compared to 12 all last season.

The Raptors have routinely sat Leonard, who scored 33 points against Boston, for one half of back-to-back games.

Toronto has not lost on consecutive days since Dec. 26-27, 2017 (at Dallas and Oklahoma City). Since then it has split nine back-to-back sets and swept nine.

The Raptors only have three more scheduled back-to-backs left, fewest in the NBA.

Furthermore, Patrick McCaw, signed a free agent Jan. 10, made his Raptors debut off the bench in the second quarter. He did not score in six minutes.

It was the Raptors’ 12th annual Canadian Armed Forces Appreciation night with more than 300 members of the military and their families in attendance. A pre-game presentation recognized Lieut.-Gen. Jean-Marc Lanthier, commander of the Canadian Army.

]]>http://www.snkrbox.com/raptors-narrowly-edge-past-suns/feed/02606Leafs Beat The Leading Lightninghttp://www.snkrbox.com/leafs-beat-leading-lightning/
http://www.snkrbox.com/leafs-beat-leading-lightning/#respondFri, 18 Jan 2019 09:46:46 +0000http://www.snkrbox.com/?p=2603Fredrik Anderson returns to help Toronto Maple Leafs beat Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 Although they trail Tampa Bay by 14 points in the standings, the Toronto Maple Leafs are having some head-to-head success against the top team in the NHL. Mitch Marner scored a go-ahead goal late in the second period. While Nazem Kadri and … Continue Reading

Although they trail Tampa Bay by 14 points in the standings, the Toronto Maple Leafs are having some head-to-head success against the top team in the NHL.

Mitch Marner scored a go-ahead goal late in the second period. While Nazem Kadri and Patrick Marleau each had a goal and an assist, and the Maple Leafs beat the Lightning 4-2 on Thursday night.

“I think we embrace the challenge of playing against the best, and I think we’ve proved time and time again even though there’s tough parts to the season we compete with the best,” Kadri said. “I think that’s an important note to take out of this game.”

The center is also the first Maple Leafs player to begin his NHL career with three consecutive 60-point seasons.

Tavares finished with two assists.

Both goalies made strong saves during the third. Andersen went post-to-post to stop Kucherov’s shot, and Vasilevskiy reached back near the goal line to grab Auston Matthews’ shot that went off his glove.

]]>http://www.snkrbox.com/leafs-beat-leading-lightning/feed/02603Raptors Come Up Shorthttp://www.snkrbox.com/raptors-come-short/
http://www.snkrbox.com/raptors-come-short/#respondThu, 17 Jan 2019 09:10:44 +0000http://www.snkrbox.com/?p=2600Kyrie Irving inspires Boston Celtics to victory over Toronto Raptors Kyrie Irving made a go-ahead jumper and added a three-pointer during an 11-0 run late in the fourth quarter as the Boston Celtics defeated the visiting Toronto Raptors 117-108 on Wednesday night. Irving finished with 27 points. As well as a career-best of 18 assists, … Continue Reading

The Celtics, who led by as many 16 during the third quarter, took a four-point edge into the fourth quarter.

Monroe’s tip-in completed a 9-0 run to give Toronto a three-point lead. But Aron Baynes tied it at 92 on a three-pointer with 6:44 left.

Leonard’s two free throws gave Toronto a four-point lead with 5:16 remaining. But Tatum’s three-pointer put Boston up by two with three minutes to go before Green tied it with a jumper.

Irving’s step-back jumper gave Boston the lead again with 2:15 left. He added a 3-pointer to give Boston a five-point margin with 1:39 left. Horford’s layup gave Boston a seven-point lead, and then his dunk made the lead nine with 45.7 seconds left.

Toronto had a stretch of 10 straight missed shots while shooting 28.6 percent in a season-low, 17-point second quarter. The Celtics were up 64-53 at halftime after Hayward’s floating jumper at the buzzer.

Toronto was up by four with 4:22 to play and its MVP candidate was carrying the team and several Celtics on his back.

It was tremendous to watch and the Raptors couldn’t help themselves.

“A lot of times we kind of give Kawhi the ball and get out the way,” said Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry.

When it works it’s a thing of brutish beauty. Like watching an expert lumberjack fell a tree with one mighty swing of his axe after another.

But on this night, the Raptors (33-13) were eventually chopped down 117-108 by the Celtics. Meaning an end to their winning streak at five games. The well finally ran dry. And as has happened more than once as the Raptors get in the grind of close games. Toronto seemed perplexed about what to do when Leonard was closed off.

“Obviously the last three minutes of the game got the offense on us. I think almost blame more of it on the offence,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse.

“We had a really good rhythm and momentum there for a long stretch offensively. Then we kind of took a couple of quick shots and didn’t execute a couple of things exactly right. Then out of a timeout, one time and you can’t do that.”

]]>http://www.snkrbox.com/raptors-come-short/feed/02600Historic Loss For Dukehttp://www.snkrbox.com/historic-loss-duke/
http://www.snkrbox.com/historic-loss-duke/#respondTue, 15 Jan 2019 09:29:44 +0000http://www.snkrbox.com/?p=2592Tyus Battle scores 32 as Syracuse upset Duke Blue Devils Monday night’s game plan went out the window early, and Duke’s grasp on the No. 1 ranking likely went with it, as the Blue Devils fell 95-91 in overtime to Syracuse, their first loss at home as the nation’s top-ranked team since 2006. Duke had … Continue Reading

Monday night’s game plan went out the window early, and Duke’s grasp on the No. 1 ranking likely went with it, as the Blue Devils fell 95-91 in overtime to Syracuse, their first loss at home as the nation’s top-ranked team since 2006.

Duke had been 104-0 at Cameron Indoor Stadium as the No. 1-ranked team against everyone other than rival North Carolina, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

All it took to end the streak were health issues for two Duke starters, a 0-for-10 night from one of their replacements and a first-half buzzer-beater by Syracuse from more than three-quarters court. That, Zion Williamson said, was a recipe for disaster.

“When that shot went in,” Williamson said of Elijah Hughes’ remarkable 3-pointer at the halftime horn, “it just showed what kind of night it was for them. It seemed like everything they threw up was just bottom of the net. They just hit a lot of shots.”

Williamson set a Duke freshman record with 35 points in the game, but he was forced to play nearly the entirety of the overtime affair and looked drained by the end.

Forward Cam Reddish missed the game with an illness, and point guard Tre Jones left with a severe right shoulder injury early in the first half — and from there, nothing seemed to go right for the Blue Devils.

Jones was diagnosed with an AC joint separation and is out indefinitely.

“The game plan was to have Tre Jones and Cameron Reddish,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “When you get two guys hurt, there is no game plan anymore. It’s a period of adjustment. You’re trying to find ways to win.”

For Duke, that was largely about launching 3-pointers. The Blue Devils shot 43 times from beyond the arc, but just nine fell.

RJ Barrett, in particular, struggled badly from the 3 lines, hitting 4-of-17 in the game. At one critical stretch in the second half, Barrett was 0-for-10 from the field as an eight-point Duke lead evaporated.

Jones had four steals in six minutes of action, and Syracuse was just 1-of-7 shooting with him on the court. That all changed after the injury. Krzyzewski said Jones could be “out for a while.”

Jack White replaced Reddish in the starting lineup and was 0-for-10 from the field. Krzyzewski was unsure whether Reddish would return in time for Duke’s next game — Saturday at home against No. 4 Virginia. He said Reddish was suffering from “flu-like” symptoms.

“There is no game plan once those things happen,” Krzyzewski said. “You’re trying to survive.”

The loss was still a stunner, as Syracuse (12-5) was coming off a blowout defeat at home to Georgia Tech. But with Jones out, the Orange’s Frank Howard and Tyus Battle were able to combine for 48 points, and Paschal Chukwu had 18 rebounds while battling Williamson in the paint.

The loss likely knocks Duke (14-2) out of the top spot in the rankings, but more concerning is the potential absence of Jones for any length of time.

“We need those two guys,” Barrett said of Jones and Reddish. “Next two guys got to step up, but we came up short today.”

The Blue Devils are just the fifth AP No. 1 team to lose at home to an unranked team in the past 10 seasons.

North Carolina has beaten a top-ranked Duke team three times at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim improved to 3-2 in road games against AP No. 1 teams. That ties Gary Williams (3-11) for the most road victories versus No. 1 teams. The only other coach who has played at least two road games against No. 1 teams and has a winning record is Rollie Massimino (2-1).

Carl Soderberg scored his first career hat trick — including the go-ahead goal midway through the third period — as the visiting Colorado Avalanche defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Monday night.

Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen and Matt Calvert also scored goals for the Avalanche. Who won for the second time in the past 11 games.

Calvert’s goal and Soderberg’s third goal were into an empty net in the third period.

Igor Ozhiganov, Kasperi Kapanen and Mitch Marner scored for the Maple Leafs. Who have now lost five of their past seven games. Auston Matthews added two assists for Toronto.

Goaltender Frederik Andersen returned to the Maple Leafs’ net after missing eight games with a groin injury and the flu. He made 32 saves.

Colorado goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 17 saves.

Ozhiganov scored his third goal of the season at 2:14 of the second period on a wrist shot from the right point that Varlamov struggled to handle.

Toronto’s Par Lindholm put the puck into the goal slightly more than a minute later. But it was nullified when the video review showed the play was offside.

Kapanen scored his 15th goal of the season on a short shot from the right side of the goal at 3:28 of the second.

Landeskog deflected a shot by Tyson Barrie at 6:33 of the second for his 28th goal this season.

Colorado tied the game on Rantanen’s 21st goal this season, unassisted, at 9:56 of the second on a shot from the right circle.

Colorado took a 3-2 lead on Soderberg’s 13th goal, an unassisted, shorthanded effort at 14:29 of the second after he took the puck from defenseman Jake Gardiner near the goal and snapped his shot while sprawling. Marner tied the game at 6:00 of the third period with his 18th goal. A wrist shot from the left circle.

Colorado regained the lead when Soderberg scored his second of the game at 11:45 of the third on a shot from the left circle.

Calvert scored his seventh this season into the vacant goal at 17:09 of the third and Soderberg scored his 15th into an empty net at 18:12.

Mike Babcock was disappointed with the Leafs effort. He said: “I thought they worked harder than we did. Any way you look at it, I think we are .500 in our last ten. Since Christmas, we haven’t been engaged enough. We haven’t competed at a high enough level.

“If you just did a, “Who won all the races and who won all the battles?” They did. The game was fair in the end. I thought we were in a good spot, obviously. We had good chances in the first on the power play, we had the breakaway. And had the seam pass. In saying all of that, they kept winning more and more as the game went on. They deserved the win.”

Babcock continued: “We haven’t been very good. We can compete way harder than we are right now. For whatever reason, since Christmas, we haven’t found that level. I don’t know why that is. We have in games. I thought a lot of the Boston game, a lot of the Nashville game, the Vancouver game… But it hasn’t been every day at a high enough level.